Philadelphia’s District Attorney, Seth Williams, could ask for a stay and a fuller review of evidence. Instead, he’s crusading in favor of the death penalty, even writing an op-ed for The Philadelphia Inquirer called “Making the case for Williams’ execution.”

Terrance Williams’ life is on the line, and so is Seth Williams’ reputation.

No one disputes that Terrance Williams killed Amos Norwood in 1984, or that he killed Herbert Hamilton five months before, although the earlier homicide is not the basis for his execution. At his 1986 trial, the prosecutor claimed that Mr. Williams robbed Mr. Norwood, a perfect stranger, and then murdered him.
But from an affidavit in the case by a witness and from other evidence, it’s clear that Mr. Williams knew Mr. Norwood before the night of the homicide and had received money from him. And it’s clear that they had a physical relationship and that Mr. Norwood had propositioned other boys. Last week, at a special hearing that continued on Monday and is expected to end on Tuesday with closing arguments, it also became clear that the prosecutor knew these mitigating circumstances—but apparently withheld evidence in violation of the defendant’s constitutional rights.

Mr. Williams’ defense team failed to counter the prosecution. At his trial, defense attorneys provided the jury with almost no information about the sexual abuse Mr. Williams suffered.

The crux of the district attorney’s claim is that the death-row inmate is a murderer with a history of armed robbery who has tried every trick to escape execution. But the evidence tells a different story—that however heinous his crimes, as a young man Mr. Williams was sexually abused, that the homicides he committed were angry responses to apparently abusive relationships and that the prosecution seems to have withheld evidence from the defense so he would be sentenced to death.

Pennsylvania is notorious for its unfair application of the death sentence. A Pennsylvania commission is looking into whether it is possible to reform the state’s capital punishment system or if it is time to abolish it. A majority of the commission’s members whose jobs leave them free to take a position have called for a moratorium on all executions, including that of Mr. Williams, until the commission makes its recommendation.

This blog post has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: September 25, 2012

This post misstated the date scheduled for Terrance Williams’ execution. It’s next Wednesday, Oct 3, not this Wednesday, Sept. 26.